Following the death of a patient, some health professionals may be asked to provide a statement to the coroner about their management of that patient and, perhaps, later be required to attend court to provide evidence at an inquest. Understandably, the prospect of dealing with the Coroners Court might be stressful, however, this is usually due to a lack of knowledge regarding the role and function of coroners. 

In this episode of The Checkup, BN’s Kate Hughes speaks to His Honour Coroner Simon McGregor of the Coroners Court of Victoria. Coroner McGregor, who is clearly passionate about his role, provides fascinating insights into the coronial jurisdiction, demystifies the processes, outlines some recurring issues (such as poor documentation) which the court sees related to medical investigations, and explains the circumstances in which the court may consider referring health professionals to AHPRA.